The Tempest
by doppeldonger
Summary: In an attempt to prevent Hyperion from using Angel and her Siren powers, John escapes Helios with Angel and together they crash on Pandora. Timothy, John's twin brother, stays behind to offer them any help he can and stall Hyperion, but Pandora has more in store to surprise them with. Angel and John are on the run, living the life of bandits.
1. The Fall

Intergalactic travel is quite the one-of-a-kind experience that should be witnessed rather than being told about; especially when you are stuck in a crappy space shuttle instead of using the fast travel stations like any other human or non-human being to make it a more comfortable and definitely less eventful journey. But then again, your company- **_former_** company strongly believing that you're a traitorous bastard who needs to be annihilated as soon (and violently) as possible makes the shuttle seem like heaven.

'Heaven' would be one of the last things that crossed John's mind at that particular moment, however, as he was desperately trying to control the crammed vehicle while fending off multiple Loader Bot attacks- or rather, trying to avoid the missiles directed at the old hunk of metal he was currently in charge of. Many colorful swears running through his head at the speed of light, he settled on an innocent "Son of a taint!" and steered the vehicle to left, escaping a Loader by mere moments.

He was more afraid than angry, truth be told; if he were on his own, he could pull off something more dangerous that had a better chance at making him get rid of the swarm of robots tailing on his ass, but he had a rather important passenger he dared not risk losing.

This particular passenger was currently hugging a small, toothy creature that awfully looked like the Kraggons populating Elpis. "Come on, dad! Just let me phase them so that we can escape!" The creature gave an encouraging roar.

"How about 'No.' kiddo?" John gave his daughter a strained smile that dangerously trod on the verge of a nervous breakdown, "As much as I'd love to destroy them right away, I can't put you in danger."

"'Cause I'm the very reason we're on the run, isn't it?" She sounded so crestfallen that it made his chest tighten.

John took a moment to steal a glance at her daughter, who was sitting in the chair next to him, still huddled close to her pet as she looked at the floor. He sighed, "Pumpkin, no... You know very well that I don't blame you for any of this." He made a sharp turn to the right that disoriented them for a moment- luckily it had the same effect on their pursuers. "I wish we could have stayed at Helios and gone on with our lives, but y'know..." He shrugged, giving her a lopsided grin, "That would've gotten boring after some time anyway." Angel let out a snort as her eyes met her father's, two pairs of bright, dual-colored eyes holding each other's gaze.

"Yeah... Guess you're right, dad." Her pet, Warrior (a name fitting its personality rather than its size) purred happily, content that its masters were relatively less stressed.

Thus, the first day of the rest of their changed-freaking-drastically life began. Surprisingly enough, the shuttle held on until they landed on a pretty deserted part of Pandora (was any part of the planet not deserted anyway?), then died with a sputter of oil and a couple of tiny explosions. Taking one of the backpacks they managed to bring along and throwing it onto his back in one quick motion, John put his hands on his hips and scanned the empty desert that seemed to go on for miles and miles; Warrior obediently stood next to him, wagging its tail with curiosity as it took in all the smells Pandora had in store for it. Wearing a similar pack on her back, Angel slowly came to stand by them, scrunching her nose as she looked around in the overly-bright sunlight, looking for any sign of technology she could detect.

* * *

Well, no such luck.

If he hadn't improved the damn thing himself, John would have deemed the ECHO device absolutely useless and inaccurate, which was currently lying in the sand thanks to having been thrown away during an anger fit.

"Nothing?" Angel asked with a bitter smile, to which her father answered by throwing his arms in the air exasperatedly and grumbling something under his breath. "Want me to check it out?" she added, her smile turning into a sly grin. She turned to grab the poor device currently resting atop a tiny sand hill; Warrior made a sloppy run to it and bent its head down to sniff it, letting out loud, careful snorts every time it took a breath thanks to is weird-shaped nose.

John let out an almost-matching snort, running one shaky hand through his disheveled hair (talk about dry climate ruining your carefully made, very cool hair), "Angel. Pumpkin. Sweetheart." The young Siren chuckled, leaving the ECHO be without her father even doing or saying anything else. John was as talented as she was when it came to anything related to technology and machines, so this was quite the blow to his ego. "I might not have the… mojo you possess," there he wiggled his fingers as if to cast a dangerous spell, a mock pout settling on his face, "But your dad here is quite the tech whiz." He gestured at himself proudly, "If you haven't noticed."

The duo looked at each other, their stiff and confident postures still deeming the other inferior- and broke into a fit of giggles simultaneously. When their laughter, fueled by now-past adrenaline and stress, finally died down, Angel looked at her father carefully. "Dad?"

Her voice was almost as small and frail as it was when she was younger, back when she was so afraid of even Claptraps that she hid behind John to avoid the overly-chatty robots. Warrior let out an almost-silent wail at its masters' sudden change of mood. John felt something cold grabbing at his heart, "Yes, sweetheart?"

"Will we ever find a place to stay?" she inquired, her large eyes lighting up like aquamarine and diopside on her pale face. She was still so young, so frail. John had the urge to heave a deep sigh, but he put on a brave face for his precious daughter.

"Definitely! If only it weren't for that darn ECHO device… Ya know? I bet we passed by possible camping sites already and this thing didn't even show them to us!" He picked the said device and gave it an accusing shake, the holographic map came alive brighter than ever as if to try to make it up to its owners.

 _Will we survive?_ he thought grimly as he checked the area as far as the map let him. _How will I be able to protect her? I even almost lost her up there! And now Pandora, of all places?_

His thoughts came to a halt when he felt a gentle, warm hand on his arm, "I can feed it with a little energy, if you want." Angel said quietly, pointing at the ECHO with her other hand.

"That's too dangerous-" His daughter let out a disappointed groan, "Nonono Angel, listen to me. It's not just your health that'll be at stake if you use your powers, considering the little amount of food and clean water we have; the jerks up there are probably trying to track us down right as we speak… Can you imagine what might happen if they manage to detect Siren activity?" His large hand closed on hers, "We can't risk it, pumpkin." She huffed, letting a few stray hairs dance in front of her pouting face. John gently held her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes, "Promise me you won't use your powers unless it's absolutely necessary."

Unintelligible mumbling. "Hm?" John responded with a tiny, knowing smile. "I said 'I promise.'" His smile grew larger as he hugged her close, "I love you." Without skipping a beat, her arms encircled him, "I love you too, dad."

 **Beep. Beep. Beep.**

Now, John did believe in miracles (his daughter was one after all), but this seemed almost too surreal. He broke the hug and held his daughter at arm's reach, "You didn't…" He quirked an eyebrow at her equally surprised daughter. He checked the ECHO device which was chirping happily, a blue dot near them marking a possible camping site. "Then how…?" Angel shrugged, humming _Idunno_.

The holographic map flickered for a moment, letting the device pick up on an incoming call as if to answer him, "Surprise!" John couldn't help but let out a grateful, happy sigh as Angel nearly screamed and jumped excitedly, "Uncle Timtams!" Hearing its third favorite person in the whole universe and sensing its owners' excitement had a similar impact on Warrior as well, it had started howling and wagging its tail the moment it heard his voice.

"Heya, my guardian Angel! How you doin'?" While John had the ability to stay calm and collected during even the worst situations, being relaxed and cheerful was clearly Timothy's talent. And boy, was John thankful for that!

The duo watched the face gracing the ECHO device's screen as the young Siren replied with a gloomy tone, "Already missing you." Her pout didn't linger any longer, however, as Timothy's grin was quite infectious. "Ya know, considering I'm a simple HR goon, boosting your ECHO up a little is quite the achievement for me."

"I'm so, so proud of you, bro."

"Hell yeah, you should be!"

"Language, Tim!"

"Come on dad, I'm seventeen!"

The intimidating desert or the blazing sun stood no chance against this happy little family as they chattered their worries away for a brief amount of time. Finally, with a pleased chuckle that rumbled in his chest, Timothy said, "Alright, I'll leave you to your wandering and cut the connection for now. I don't want you to get caught or anythin'!" With that, he was gone, leaving the others to their own devices; but without Timothy's upbeat attitude, their smiles were bound to turn into grimaces. Angel's hand found John's, a silent squeeze that meant 'Don't worry, we still have each other.' Their stony-yet-warm pet came to stand on John's other side, resting against him as if to offer him support.

John heaved a huge sigh that had been sitting atop his chest for too long as if to let go of his worries (which didn't help, really) and let go of Angel's hand, "We should probably change before we get to this campsite, pumpkin, I mean…" He gestured to his jacket and Angel's t-shirt that screamed Hyperion with a grim smile, "We should try to look as Pandoran as possible."

"You mean, like bandits." Angel sounded amused, her father wasn't a fan of this planet's residents. John rolled his eyes and started rummaging through his bag to find any article of clothing that managed to get in during their frenzied escape.

* * *

"Try to cover up your tattoos, okay?"

Angel let out an affirmative hum and allowed her hair to fall loose, covering the left side of her face and neck, hiding the tattoos swirling behind her ear and across her neck. She wasn't complaining, she got to show off her neat undercut after all!

John buttoned up his dark jacket and tied his boots as Angel put on a leather glove on her left hand and threw a light scarf around her neck in case her hair wasn't enough to conceal the tattoos. Having nothing to do and no way to disguise itself, Warrior walked around excitedly as if its owners said the magic word, 'Walk!'. Angel shot a glance at her pet as she placed her bag on her back once more, "We're gonna take Warrior with us, right dad?" John chuckled in response, "I doubt it'd stay put if we didn't!"

What they thought was a small campsite full of psychos turned out to be an actual town, albeit not large, to their surprise. As John held his daughter close, his hand hovering near the pistol hidden under his jacket, he furrowed his brows; this was even riskier, things could take a turn for the better or the worse considering bigger towns meant more organized townsfolk with bigger, better firearms.

Naturally, people stared. Not that it was unlikely to get random strangers around here, but the duo that paced through the streets seemed… off. Like they weren't fit to survive the ruthlessness of Pandora. Like they weren't even aware of the ruthlessness itself that hid at every corner, in every shadow.

"Calm down and remember what I told you…" John quietly told Angel, who was fidgeting nervously, a clear indication that she could let her power wash over the town at any given moment. His daughter only let out an unhappy growl in return. "We can get some food, maybe a place to stay for the night, then we're off." he continued calmly, "It'd be better if we could get a car, but I doubt they even know what a car is in this god-forsaken planet-"

"New faces in my town, huh?" The lazy drawl cut off John's speech so rudely yet so easily and forced the two to seek out the source of the voice, which wasn't that big of a task as she was standing ten feet away from them. The woman wearing a cowboy hat that shaded her eyes from the sun put her hands behind her back and took a step towards them, leering at them all the way. "You seem awfully familiar, though." A tiny movement of her arm and her fluttering jacket revealed a six-shooter hidden underneath. John could feel Angel tensing behind him, "I bet it's the clothes, I mean, everyone wears similar stuff around here, right?" _Ooohh boy_ , she wasn't buying it. He gave her a pearly smile that looked more like a nervous sneer.

"Or maybe it's the ECHO broadcast searching for a particular guy with a teenage girl and a disgusting moon monster." She put a hand on her hip, "A Hyperion-goon-turned-bandit with a Siren brat, falling right into my hands? That's too good to be true." John's expression turned into a worried grimace as Angel tugged at her scarf without even noticing.

Another lazy step. It took all of John's willpower not to take a step back, it was like trying not to agitate a wild beast. His hand hovered close to his pistol yet again, "Ah ah ah! Don't even think about it." Angel gasped behind him and in all honesty, he shared her surprise- just when did this woman take out her revolver?

"Mister John Lawrence…" the woman said slowly, savoring every syllable with a glint in her amber eyes, "You and your daughter are wanted all around the galaxy." She leered again, "You two can come with me calmly, or I can make your daughter watch me kill you first and take her in afterwards." She mock-pouted, "I'd rather get the bounty for you both, but your daughter's worth way more than you are, so I'll pick her if I have to." She shrugged with a grin on her plump lips, "Sorry, Johnny-boy."

Tough decision to make when you have a gun pointed at your freaking head and you really, really don't like the conditions that are given to you. John's hand trembled ever so slightly.

 **Whoosh.**

"Angel, don-"

 **Bang!**

Loud howling.

In retrospect, a lot happened for John to take in in such a short time span. The searing pain in his right eye (it felt like the whole right side of his head was burning, to be honest) added to the distraction as well, probably. If he weren't so filled with adrenaline and pain, he would probably be proud of himself for not fainting for a few minutes.

If he weren't so filled with adrenaline and pain, he would definitely try to stop Angel. He must admit, watching the woman's revolver flying from her hand and hitting her square in the jaw as surprise contorted her sharp features was a sight for sore eyes- or eye, in John's case. With a wild growl so unexpected from it, Warrior nearly flew at the woman and buried its sharp teeth into her ankle hard enough to make her yelp in pain (and probably wonder if she'd get rabies) as Angel let out waves of electricity towards her, her holographic wings fluttering behind her gracefully. She could go on with her attacks and probably try to kill her right there and then while she had the energy and the chance, but the fight had long alerted the woman's goons and John had lost a good deal of blood already; so, with a frustrated growl Angel beckoned Warrior to come to her, held it and John close to her and popped out existence right in front of the aggravated woman and her people.

In retrospect, Angel wondered if using up the little strength she had left to teleport her family out of danger was really worth it as she fell on her knees next to John. She was hoping she could do something to save her father, stop the bleeding, heal him (or anything, really!), but she didn't have the power to stand straight let alone have the power to use her magic.

One catastrophe tends to follow another, right? As Angel collapsed on top of John with a sob, who had nothing but labored breaths and blood oozing out of his eye to indicate he was still alive, she cursed at her slowness. "Dad… please…" she begged, her speech slurred due to lack of energy and abundance of tears, _I should have acted faster! He's gonna die because of me!_

It was at that particular moment that she heard the screech of tires on sand and knew in her soul that they were doomed even before her brain registered the bandit technical looming above them.


	2. The Wild Card

A sigh of exasperation escaping his down-turned lips, Timothy slid down the wall he had been leaning against while he was talking to John and Angel. He was glad had taken refuge in a silent nook devoid of any curious eyes, not just because his conversation with his family went unnoticed (hopefully), but also because he was pretty sure he was going through a painful panic attack. He tried to breathe despite the feeling of a Constructor sitting atop his chest. He was probably gonna suffer more like this in the future, if he was being honest with himself.

That thought did nothing to calm the palpitations of his heart or the black dots flying at the corners of his vision. He wondered if the campsite he led John and Angel to was safe (by Pandora standards). He wondered if it was a campsite at all. Timothy knew he was good with words, not the high level technology bullshit his brother was such a pro at; for all he knew, he could have led them to a Rakkhive instead of a sliver of civilization.

 _Fan-fucking-tastic_. He took a breath and leaned his head against the wall he was now slumped against, the ECHO device fell from his trembling hands with a light clang. He wasn't sure which was worse, the possibility of accidentally sending his only family to their deaths or sitting here suffering helplessly (both physically and mentally).

Then there was that huge pain in the ass who went by the name of Harold Tassiter, of course. Timothy groaned and rubbed his eyes, that lanky bastard had the most annoying voice he heard in his life- and even a less likable personality with his _'I'm Hyperion and I'm rich, so I'm better than you'_ attitude.

"Even more annoying than Claptraps, can you believe it?" John had once described him, his face contorted as if he ate something sour.

Timothy let out a shaky laugh at the memory and took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. He wouldn't admit the tears gathering up at the corners of his eyes or the nostalgia that suddenly decided to grab his heart in its iron grasp.

He wasn't even sure if he'd see them face to face ever again. In addition to getting killed, there was a high chance of his brother and niece getting captured and/or tortured- the same possibilities, Timothy realized with a grimace, also applied to himself when his superiors had even the tiniest proof that he was working with John against the mighty ol' Hyperion.

 ** _If_** _they had proof._

Timothy slowly flexed and unflexed his hands, gaining strength and hope thanks to the line of thought that popped into his head just now. His breathing calmed down enough to let him hug his knees to himself and rest his head atop them, he just needed to _focus_.

He reckoned he could ECHO Rhys and ask for his help, he and John were practically best friends at college despite taking only a few courses together after all. Timothy hummed, he wasn't as close to the lanky young man as John was, but they sure got along well. Timothy unwound his limbs and let his head rest against the wall, his eyes searching the ceiling for things he could not see. Rhys was practically a prodigy when it came to technology- he probably would've become an even better programmer than John had he chosen to follow that path. Timothy furrowed his brows, what department did he work in now? Marketing? Securities? The guy loved to fly after new opportunities when he saw one. He could help Timothy nevertheless… But then again, Rhys was pretty much the ultimate Hyperion fanboy (he owned each and every atrocious Hyperion brand sock in the existence along with multiple Loader Bot figurines of various colors, for God's sake); there was no way he'd choose a friend over his company.

Maybe he could try to ask him about ECHO hacks without dropping any hints about his true intentions? He let out an unhappy "Ugh." and crossed his legs, reaching for his ECHO and playing with the device absentmindedly. Nah. That sounded almost as ridiculous and stupid as Rhys's current haircut. Everyone knew who Timothy was, everyone suspected he'd choose John over Hyperion and _everyone_ acted with caution around him to catch him make a mistake at this point; it was unbelievable how people put so little trust in him.

Not that they were wrong in doing so, of course.

He really needed someone who was good with the latest Hyperion tech and he was absolutely helpless at this point. He sighed and slowly got up, bouncing on his feet a little to get feeling back to his limbs. Rhys was pretty much his only resort at this point, he knew. And if the man decided to pull a trick on him and alert the whole company? (Well, he sure as hell couldn't stop him from doing so if he decided to use his ECHO implants and hacking abilities, but…) Timoty was in HR, damn it, there was bound to be something in Rhys's personnel files that he could use against the man.

* * *

For someone as obsessed with ECHO-related tech as Rhys, he sure didn't check his calls and messages, Timothy would later realize. Apparently destiny had other plans in store for him, however, as he bumped into the very man himself while he was stepping (rather angrily) across one of the walkways in Hyperion Hub of Heroism, dual-colored eyes glued to his ECHO device.

"Woah! Ah hey, Tim!" Rhys greeted the other man with a nod, his arms full of rolled pieces of paper. Posters, Timothy decided, judging by the Hyperion logo peeking through one of the corners.

"No time to check your ECHO, eh? Bet you've been having a busy week." Timothy replied, gently shaking his own device in front of Rhys's face. The cyborg actually blushed a little, "Oh, sorry 'bout that! You see, I've got my hands full of work-" he nodded down to his arms with a grin gracing his soft features thanks to the pun, "-and I didn't get a chance to focus on anything else."

"You're in Securities Propaganda now?" the other replied, reaching out to poke one poster free.

"Ahaha… Heh heh- _don'tdothat_." Rhys desperately tried to hold on to the posters in his arms, frowning at Timothy's obvious joy. He fixed his load, stood up straighter so Timothy had to crane his neck up even more to look at his face and let out a proud huff. "That's right! I'm climbing the stairs to become a higher-up, Tim! You'll see-"

"With paper posters? In a place where we have LED screens all over Helios to show off our products and brand?"

"I know! I know… I just need some time to adjust and move among the ranks, you know?"

"Uh huh."

"Look, just… let me do my thing, okay? I have everything planned-"

"You look awful happy for someone whose brother's on the loose, Lawrence." The deep, arrogant voice caused the two men's bickering to come to an abrupt stop; this day just had to keep getting worse and worse, didn't it?

" _Vasquez_." Rhys practically hissed, hugging his posters closer and crumpling them in the process.

"Following Rhys around like a jealous little puppy still, eh Assquez?" Timothy intervened before things got brutal (God forbid a finger gun fight, he did **not** need that right now). His comment might have made things worse, though, judging by the constipated look on Hugo's face.

"You have the gall to insult me while the whole corporation knows what you're up to, Lawrence." Hugo quipped through gritted teeth, "Wonder where this bravado comes from when you're **this** close to getting thrown out the airlock." He supplied his angry words with the gesture of putting his thumb and index finger agonizingly close to one another.

"Uhhh… You know what? I'm taking a break." Rhys intervened this time, putting the posters on a crate nearby and gesturing Timothy to follow him. He took his time to pause and look over his shoulder, "You can continue with the posters while I'm gone, right _Hugo_?" he purred with the most disgustingly sweet yet fake smile he could put on his face (the true Hyperion face right there).

Timothy opted for following Rhys instead of punching Hugo square in the face, but couldn't refrain from adding a nasty comment before he flipped him off, "Nice hair implants, _Hugo_!"

* * *

"So… what did you want to talk about?" Rhys asked casually, sipping his chai tea latte at the deserted corner of the coffee shop named Theia ( _'Tea-ia, am I right, Tim?'_ ). Timothy nearly sputtered his mocha out along with his words at Rhys's perceptiveness. "Come on Tim, we've known each other for years. I've learned to tell your pained expressions apart, and you seemed awfully worried back there." He leaned against the table they were sitting at and gave him a serious face, "So, spill the beans, bro."

Timothy heaved a long sigh, put down his cup and looked at his only hope, "Okay, alright… I need your help about something…" He pulled out his ECHO and unlocked it, going through the apps and programs with no particular plan in mind. "I need to boost up this particular ECHO device, along with mine."

"Don't they already have patches to make them run better and smoother? I know John worked on you guys' devices." Rhys gave him an amused wink, "Don't worry, I won't tell Hyperion he messed with their ECHOs… which is, you know, punishable by death."

 _Right_.

"You see, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Rhys's perfect baby face contorted into a worried yet curious grimace at that, which did nothing to help Timothy feel less insecure about this whole shebang, _Oh boy, here we go_. "Well, you're not… exactly wrong, but… My ECHO and this other one… they still need a boost and-"

"Why?"

"I uhm… for completely work related, revolutionary-discoveries-are-ahead kinda reasons?" This wasn't going as he planned at all.

"It's for John, isn't it?" The way Rhys put it so casually, as if John wasn't on the run with a siren (a siren! Do you know how much Hyperion is willing pay for one? Doubt even a badass accountant couldn't count the zeros on that). Timothy gaped at him like a fish out of water. "Let's not beat around the bush, 'kay?" Rhys leaned closer and tapped his ECHOport gently, "I know what you guys are up to, Tim. I have an ECHOeye and honestly, it's not that hard to hack into your line, no matter how many firewalls John builds around him." Timothy let out a shaky breath, his now-cold hands closing around his cup. He could feel his whole body getting cold along with his hands because of genuine fear. Rhys took a lazy sip from his drink and continued calmly, "I mean… Did you think I wouldn't check John's ECHO activities?"

 _Well, shit_.

"The thing is, Tim…" _Shit_. "I want to help as much as you do." _Wait, what?_ Rhys let out a low, genuine chuckle at Tim's horrified expression, "What? You thought I'd hand you guys to freaking Tassiter?" he scrunched up his nose, "I love Hyperion and working for my company, but that doesn't mean I approve what the higher-ups are doing- okay Tim, you really need to shut your mouth, you're gonna catch a bug there." Timothy was honestly too surprised to remind Rhys that there were no flies in space.

"Okay…" he finally replied, "Alright… So you're on our side?"

"I can't believe you thought I wouldn't be, bro."

That was an unexpected turn of events, Tim thought as he let out a relieved laugh and for the second time today, felt tears in his eyes. "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"You led them to some campsite, right? We can track them and see what they're up to. Unlike you two, I know how to set up a secure connection." Rhys said with a smirk, opening his right palm and putting it on the table so that Timothy could see as well. Timothy held onto his ECHO as the two men watched do its job.

"So… how are Jack and Angel doing?" Rhys asked as his ECHO search went on, "Never thought Angel would end up becoming a siren, wow…"

"I know, right?" Timothy replied as he drew lazy circles on the table with a nostalgic smile on his face. "Of course Hyperion had to go after her the moment they discovered that."

"Sirens are of incredible value across the whole galaxy, let alone just around these parts. And Angel's a tech whiz like Jack! That means they can use her for Eridium **and** data mining. Emphasis on _'use'_ , of course."

"And thus, you have them running away from Hyperion, Rhys."

"I know. I just… wish there was another way for them to stay up here without being abused. John's been a real good friend to me for all these years, and Angel's the cutest and smartest little girl I've ever met. Well… not really a little girl anymore, but… you know."

Timothy grinned, his eyes still on the table, "You know, sometimes I think your heart is filled with too much goodness for you to work for this company." Rhys put his flesh hand over his heart, feigning mock-offense.

"Honestly, I could say the same for you guys… Anyways! I'll stop with the sad talk and let my hacking skills do their thing!"

* * *

"…or not." Rhys grumbled after ten minutes of searching in vain. He closed his hand and turned to look at the other man with a worried expression on his face. "I can't find them, Tim."

Timothy's hands grabbed onto the device between them like a lifeline, "Maybe they lost their ECHO."

"I still would've found a signal."

"Maybe it's out of charge."

"You know as well as I do that ECHO devices don't work that way, bro."

"Maybe it broke? I don't know, Rhys, I really don't… Just help me out, please?" Timothy begged, looking like he was ready to tear off his hair in frustration.

"Let's stay calm, alright? I have an idea. And please don't look at me like a kicked puppy, bro, that's heartbreaking." Timothy finally gave him a totally-not-watery smile and gestured for him to go on. "Remember Vaughn, from accounting?"

"Your ridiculously ripped friend from accounting? I still don't believe that exercise bike story."

"Just focus, Tim. Right… he's among this huge group of people Hyperion sent to Pandora to watch and supervise the construction of Opportunity. There are already parts of the city that are fully up and ready to live in, so Hyperion decided to start some activity down there ASAP."

Timothy gave Rhys an amused grin, "The Children of Helios. I know, Rhys, I work in HR, remember?" His counterpart smiled in response, "But alright, I'll let you go on with your excitement."

"Gee, thanks Tim! Anyway, we can contact Vaughn and he can be our eyes and ears down on Pandora."

"You sure we can trust him?"

"It's either him listening around for any reports or us going down there ourselves, bro. And I'm pretty sure you crashing onto Pandora right after your brother would attract some attention."

Timothy finally relented and nodded, "You're right. Let's just…" He checked the time on his ECHO, "Return to work and meet up after we're done being abused by our superiors." Rhys patted Timothy's arm and gave him a sympathetic smile to encourage him.

"I know you're worried out of your mind about them, but this is the best way to act without alerting people."


	3. Like Father, Like Daughter

"Target in sights. Moving to engage."

The various murder attempts on her life in the past six hours or so considered, Angel was pretty sure the one she was currently witnessing was in her top three, if not the worst of all. Warrior let out a low growl, walking backwards until it was hiding behind Angel, courageous little pup, he was. Her hands grabbing at John's heaving and trembling figure, the siren turned her attention to the Loader Bot looming over them and forced herself to match the emotionless gaze of the robot. She inwardly cursed at the rifle in its hand and her inability to revoke her powers.

She didn't let the sob threatening to escape her chest free. She was strong, god damn it, she was a Lawrence.

"Removing bandit. Success imminent."

Looking up at the barrel of the rifle, however, the young siren could feel her eyes watering; she pursed her lips and kept silent. Dad, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I made a mistake, I couldn't-

"HEYHEYHEY URANUS WAIT!"

Angel perked up at the high pitched, robotic voice, followed by the sound of a whirring wheel she was all too familiar with. Warrior whined, nudging Angel's back with its snout.

"A CL4P-TP?" she whispered to herself as the Loader Bot's smaller companion caught up with it, the fact that she was about to be blown to pieces in a few moments forgotten. John groaned weakly, because of the chatty bot or because of pain, Angel wasn't sure. The robot in question finally stopped punching the Loader Bot's kneecaps and turned to shoot a look at Angel; how it managed to convey emotions despite just having one blue eye was beyond her.

"I go by Hermes, actually!" the smaller robot replied, moving excitedly on his wheel now that its buddy decided to cease fire. Was it… actually dancing? Angel couldn't help but smile despite herself, her life had started to feel too surreal lately. Hermes continued, pointing at the taller robot, "And this is Uranus! It's funny, 'cause he **is** an ass!"

"Hey. Stop it. It's Ouranos."

"Awww buddy, you know I'm just messing with ya! Plus, you're the one who's decided to go on a murdering spree in the middle of the desert! I mean, how rude is that? This is just a human girl and her very dying friend! Show some hospitality!" The chatty robot halted when John let out a painful gurgle that made Angel wince in fear. Warrior whined again, gently nudging John's head this time. Angel gave the robots a watery and strained smile, "Hi, Hermes, Oruanos. I'm Angel, this is my father, John, and this is our pet, Warrior." She braced herself for… anything, really, as she gently patted her father's chest and continued. "Can you help us?"

What she wasn't ready for was, however, the complete silence that befell the robots. "Look, I-"

"Righteous father!"

"You came back for us!"

Welp, that was an unexpected improvement. She held onto John tighter as the robots crowded around the humans and the kraggon, "You know dad?" She sounded so timid, so small. She wondered how long her father could hold on. Hermes and Ouranos stopped making excited trills and beeps to examine Angel for a moment, nearly making her wither under their scrutinizing gaze.

"Wait… So you're…"

"Dexterous sister!"

"Guys-"

"Oh my god, you've gotten so big! Way to go, sister! I'm so jealous!"

"GUYS!" Angel finally managed to stop them, actually waving her arms in front of their visual sensors. "Please, my father's dying."

"No worries! We can get you to someone who can help!" Hermes chirped happily and started wheeling away before adding apologetically, "If I sound pleased about this, it's only because I'm programmed to sound like this! I'm actually quite upset and stressed!"

* * *

Riding in a bandit technical is quite the experience, Angel would later decide, especially when your driver is a CL4P-TP. He was a great driver, make no mistakes, he just loved to boost the damn thing every 10 minutes and screaming obscenities like "Watch as we observe the rare and beautiful Clappy Bird!". It would have been pretty funny if she wasn't holding her dying father in her arms. Probably.

The bandit technical wormed its way between walls and walls of car parts and came to a stop gently, Ouranos announcing they "returned to Motherland". Hermes wheeled away without a care in the world as Ouranos helped Angel with carrying John out of the back of the technical, his stiff limbs surprisingly tender as he scooped the unconscious man in his arms.

"Oh, howdy!"

Turning to see a tall woman with short blonde hair and the cutest face ever, Angel blushed and graced the other with a timid smile. The "Greetings." coming from Ouranos confirmed the woman as friendly, much to the young siren's relief (because of her father's well-being, of course, what do you mean she has a crush on this pretty lady? Blatant. Lies.). The woman paced closer, her worried glance moving between John and Angel, "And who would you be, cutie?"

"That's Angel, Father's daughter!" Oh good, thanks Hermes, coming back along with the cute woman to save the day because Angel's in no condition to reply, what with her jaw hanging and all that. "Angel, this is Ellie! She helps us out, fixes us and even gives us missions from time to time!"

The woman's (Ellie! What a cute name, to go with the cute woman, oh my gosh) eyes narrowed slightly at the introduction, her eyes moving once more to John. "As in, Johnathan Lawrence's daughter?" Angel gave a small wave, accompanied by a nervous smile on her flushed face (it's the Pandoran sun ruining her pale skin, not that she's crushing hard on Ellie).

"U-uhm. Yeah. Can you, uh, help us?"

"That bastard broke my mama's heart real bad." Ellie replied, furrowing her brows and making Angel's heart plummet all the way to her stomach. The taller woman turned to look at the other a moment later, however, her scowl softening into a smile, "But I like you a lot, Angel! I'll help you fellas."

* * *

Jamming the third Anshin hypo right into John's eye socket and making the poor man yowl in pain yet again, Ellie turned to look at Angel, who was pacing around the woman's garage nervously and throwing worried glances at her father every so often. "Alright, he's stable and fixed, but I couldn't save his eye." Ellie slowly spoke up, "Unless you have healing powers?" Angel stopped dead in her tracks, her dual colored eyes wide. The other woman pointed at her left arm, "Your tat's showin', cutie."

Well, shit. She hadn't noticed the left sleeve of her jacket was completely blown off until this point.

"Dexterous sister is a… siren?"

"Wow! Now you're even cooler and I'm even more jealous!"

"Well, shoot. Don't look at me like that, Angel! If I didn't turn you to those Hyperion bastards 'til now, I ain't gonna do that now." Angel wrapped her arms around herself, unconsciously trying to make herself smaller, "So you know, too?" Ellie looked at her with a sad look on her soft features, "They've been broadcasting about you two going AWOL for hours, cutie. You two've got some huge bounty on your heads too."

Angel's hands tightened around her arms, her jaw clenching and her eyes filling with tears yet to be shed. She gave Ellie a genuine, small smile, however, "Thank you." The other woman got up with an "Awwww!" and walked closer to the siren, engulfing her in a tight hug. Gosh, she was so soft, and she smelled so lovely. Were people allowed to be like that in a god forsaken planet like this? She returned the hug, a deep crimson dusting her cheeks when she leaned back to look up at Ellie's face. Eyes imprisoned by the other's, arms encircling the other, they stood silently in the evening sun.

"Mrrng'l?"

And just like that, the moment was gone, broken by John's muffled question.

"Dad? I'm here! You're okay. We're okay." Afraid to hurt her father although he seemed to be doing fine, Angel ended up holding John's hand in hers.

"Wh… where're we, pum'k'n?"

"In the area known as The Dust." Ouranos helpfully supplied, making John look up at the Loader Bot who had gotten closer to the duo once he realized John was awake. The man searched the robot's unwavering red eye with a dumb smile on his face (perks of three Anshins, really), "We 'n Helios?" he mumbled happily, " 'kay." He closed his eyes for a moment, only to open them a moment later, a look of pure shock on his face as he flailed his limbs (they looked like limp noodles in reality. Again, blame the Anshins.), "WE ON HELIOS?!"

Angel couldn't help but smile at her father's confusion as she held him down easily, "Calm down, dad. We're still on Pandora." John shot her an incredulous look.

"Buh… but… Loader Bot…" he gestured weakly at Ouranos.

"Dad, meet Ouranos. He's our friend."

"Uranus?" John let out a giggle that quickly evolved into laughter, "Uranus, oh my god!" Angel rolled her eyes with a huff and a smile, "No, dad. It's Ouranos."

" 's what I said! Uranus!"

"You're still the biggest ass around here, so stop makin' fun of him." came Ellie's chiding voice, hint of entertainment hidden through the syllables. The all too familiar accent sobered John up, if only a little, as he turned his head to grace Ellie with a surprised expression, his mouth forming an "Oh.".

"Howdy, John. Broke any hearts lately?"

"M'kay. Help me up, pum'k'n." John told Angel and let her help him into a sitting position. " 'ey, Ellie. How's… how's Moxx doin'?" Had Ellie's scowl any power, John would have exploded into pieces.

Thank god she's human. "Heyyyy dad? Meet Hermes, he's a CL4P-TP unit!" Diversion. Diversion is good.

"You jackass!"

Oh crap.

* * *

Harold Tassiter lounged in his comfortable office chair fit only for Hyperion's CEO, his long, thin fingers intertwined and resting on top of his crossed legs. An emotionless smile graced his thin lips, his hawkish nose crinkling as if he smelled something nasty (the smell of betrayal, to be exact). His goatee trembled every time he ground his teeth, his eyes squinting angrily behind his glasses.

The two people standing in front of him knew all too well the signs that showed he was angry, the kind of anger that caused people to get thrown out of airlocks.

"I want them found, ladies. Not one person across the whole universe could capture a mere code monkey and a teenager in the span of twelve hours!" He huffed, disentangling his hands and putting them flat on his fancy office desk. "You're the best of the best, and you're going to get them for me. Do **not** return empty handed."

Bubbly laughter rang through the large office, caressing Tassiter in all the wrong places, "Don't underestimate us, Harold." The woman's plump red lips curved into a smile that was not unlike a sneer, her liquid gold eyes peaking from under her dark hoodie.

Her companion put her hands on her hips, putting her weight on one foot, "How many times do we have to tell you that, Tassiter?" She was the polar opposite to her partner's fiery look with her icy eyes and curved brows.

Tassiter closed his eyes, letting out a breath through his nose, "Yes, ladies. I know." He raised his head to look at the women standing with all the confidence in the world. "Now, Ms. Maya, Ms. Lilith… Kindly help me find these people, please?"

With affirmative giggles like bells chiming, Tassiter had his wordless reply. He waited until the women left his office to finally let his head fall onto his desk with a sigh.

Sirens. So hard to please. So hard to use.

* * *

The warm breeze blew through the green hills of the Highlands, playfully messing with Commandant Steele's braids. She straightened herself, threw the loose braid behind her shoulder with a quick move of her hand and returned to her stiff position; hands behind her back, legs spread apart at shoulder length, head held high. She watched over the group of young women training below, letting out vicious shouts every time they swung their elegantly deadly swords. It was a privilege, watching Athena move along with her pupils, her midnight blue hair dancing with every blow. At some point, Athena caught Helga's piercing stare and gave her a curt nod, leaving the pupils to train by themselves with a sharp order and went to join the siren.

"They seem to be getting better." The albino commented when the assassin reached her side.

"Half of them will be blown to pieces the first time they go on a mission." Athena replied, voice as sour as her mood.

"Good. We cannot have weaklings amongst our ranks." Helga quipped casually, watching one of the women deal a nasty blow to another. Athena hummed affirmative. For a few moments, the soft wind and the women's war cries were the only sound filling the silence between the two high ranking officers.

"What do you think about this mission they're sending us to?" Athena asked, crossing her arms and moving to stand next to the siren. Helga slightly leaned into the other woman's warmth, acting as if she didn't intend to do so.

"A siren on the loose? Sounds made-up to me."

"This side of the universe seems to believe it, though."

"Hyperion does a good job spreading lies, you know."

Athena hummed again, moving back to stand on her own with a barely hidden sigh gracing her lips. "If anything, I'll have the chance to test my new shield. If she really does exist, I can hit that siren with it."

"I'd love to watch you do that." Another set of curt nods exchanged, and Athena was on her way back to the women training on the grass below them, shouting at her pupils in her Scary Assassin voice.

The warm breeze felt nice on Helga's skin, reminding her of the exhilaration that washed over her whenever she unleashed her power.


	4. Mr and Mrs Smith

In retrospect, watching John get backhanded by Ellie was something much less violent than what Angel had feared. As John sat on his ass on the floor, nursing his now-reddened cheek, the young siren stood in front of her father, facing the angry woman with a sympathetic and curious smile on her face. "So you're Moxxi's daughter? The Moxxi?"

"That'd be me, cutie." despite the anger her mother's ex sparked in her, Ellie returned the girl's smile. Angel huffed and put her hands on her hips, thinking back to the past, "Gosh, how long has it been since they hung out? Ten years?"

"Nine, actually." John supplied from behind her, drawing a pair of stares onto himself- one curious and the other annoyed.

"What he said." the mechanic agreed sourly, scrunching her button nose and making Angel's heart flutter.

"I can't believe we never met." the siren said, clearly mourning all the years they could have spent being friends with.

"Never was the one to hang out around Moxxi, she got too… assertive."

Ellie's comment got a snort out of the other, "Don't I know assertive parents." John's weak, "Hey!" went ignored as the siren crossed her arms and shared a knowing look with the taller woman. There was a short pause, followed by a thought suddenly striking Angel; she held up a finger and grinned triumphantly at Ellie, "Okay wait… isn't she a way better tech whiz than dad, though?"

A louder and offended "Hey!" from John and a delighted laugh from Ellie confirmed Angel's question and she let out an amused giggle. She turned to grace John with a response as well, "Come on, dad. It's always good to accept one's flaws."

"I don't have any flaws!"

"And that," Ellie pointed a finger at the man, "Is why you're an asshole." John finally gave up trying to argue with the woman and simply let out an agonized grunt, which gave Angel the opportunity to cut in: "Do you think you can contact your mom and convince her to help us out?"

The mechanic hummed thoughtfully, tapping a finger to her chin and swaying on her feet, "I can." she answered lazily, "But what's in it for me? I mean, my ma's just annoying as any other parent out there."

"How about a date? Whenever we get to see each other again?" John let out an indignant squawk and honestly, Angel couldn't believe she had just said that either. Judging by the blush on Ellie's plump cheeks (that nearly matched Angel's own reddened face), her offer was good enough.

"Deal." Ellie finally said with a wink, "I'll hold you to it."

* * *

"Ellie? Sweetheart, I'm thrilled that you called and I really, really want to hear what you've been up to, but I'm a little busy right now." Moxxi drawled into her ECHO, not bothering to look at the screen and trying to keep up with her usual nonchalant-yet-hot attitude while watching the group of people sitting in one of the booths at her bar.

"Heyyyy, Moxx." The woman's well-shaped brows nearly met in annoyance at the voice, surprise and anger battling for dominance in her chest. Why was John, of all people, calling her from Ellie's line?

"John?!" she hissed, finally ducking behind the counter and looking at her ECHO's screen just as she heard Ellie say "That was just too many Ys, asshole." There was a scoff from John and she saw three people on the screen, the Jackass himself (minus an eye, wonder what the idiot did to lose it), Ellie-bear (looking damn cute in orange) and-

"Angel?"

"Hi, Auntie Moxxi!" The girl in question gave her a hearty wave and a huge, toothy grin. Moxxi ducked further, taking her ECHO along with her and finally settling on the floor. "What are you doing at Ellie's place, baby girl? Every bandit and mercenary out there is after you!"

"News travel fast, eh?" John commented sadly, "That's exactly why we need your help, Moxx."

"Oh, so the mighty John Lawrence needs the help of a simple technician like me?" The woman spat, her fingers tightening around her ECHO as her beautiful features contorted into an angry frown.

"Look, Moxx, I… I'm really sorry we had to go through a nasty breakup, but I need your help… Desperately."

Was he… was the damn bastard giving her puppy eyes (or eye, in his case)? And wait… did he just apologize? Moxxi frowned.

"Who are you and what did you do to my ugly ex?"

"I honestly don't know what Marcus's been doing…" John said with a small grin, not taking the insult seriously, "But it's really me." Moxxi rolled her eyes despite her amused smile and pinched the bridge of her nose, various thoughts already forming in her mind.

"As much as I'd love to help you two just for the sake of your daughter turning out to be such a sweet and smart person (unlike you)," she played along, "I'm a little busy right now."

"Moxx, come on! I'm not asking you to close up the bar or anything, just a boost-"

"I'm in the middle of a con, John." Moxxi cut him off, rising on her feet to throw a quick look at the crowded booth.

"A con? Since when do you do cons?"

"Since thatsnoneofyourbusiness, John."

"Come ooooonnnnnn Moooooooxx."

The bar owner paused sulking as she caught her accomplice's stare across the bar and smiled to herself, "Okay, John. This is gonna be risky, but I'll help you if you two help me with this con."

"We're wanted all over the freaking universe, Moxx! How could we actually con people? We can't even go in public!"

Moxxi gave him a sly smile, "Well, you see…"

* * *

"Why did you say you… quit Hyperion?" the tall, nearly-enchanting woman asked, the bar's lights bouncing off of her amber brown skin elegantly. Her piercing, electric blue eyes found the warm, mint colored ones of her counterpart, studying the younger woman intently. "Mrs… Strauss, correct?"

The said 'Mrs Strauss' almost tipped her head at her current prey, remembering she wasn't wearing one at the last moment. A dark shade of red dusting her deep bronze cheeks, she gave the woman an encouraging smile, "It was just not working for us, Ms Hammerlock. We wanted a decent life and Hyperion did not give us one."

The blond man sitting next to 'Mrs Strauss' gave a hearty nod, "The conditions we were working in were just not good for a happy life, and definitely far from a proper one for our future children." He patted the woman's hand fondly, the wedding ring on his finger glinting slightly.

Fiona (A.K.A. Mrs Strauss) shot Mr Strauss (the idiot who went by the name of August in real life) an incredulous look, trying to convey her thoughts along with it.

What the fuck, August?!

Ms Hammerlock (who so lovingly went by the name of Baroness Aurelia Hammerlock among these peasants) gave the duo a mocking smile, "Leaving such a grand company for children?" She turned towards her brother (who was down for being called literally anything if it meant he could part ways with his sister) and let out a shrill laugh which was enough for Sir Hammerlock to see what she was thinking.

Can you believe these peasants and their simple life choices?

Fiona shot the Hammerlocks an apologetic grin, shrugging her shoulders innocently. August puffed up his chest, clearly offended by his future kids being insulted, only to be stopped by the voice crackling in his ear just as he was about to shot back a snarky reply.

"Don't forget about the deeeeaaaaallll!" the low, sing-song voice of Sasha, Fiona's younger sister came through, sounding as stiff and strained as her posture. She shot an angry look at the Strausses from where she sat across the bar, unnoticed by the regal siblings.

Fiona cleared her throat and laced her fingers on the table, looking both Hammerlocks in the eye, "What matters right now is that we need the money ("For our children!" August unhelpfully supplied) and you want to find this siren and her father."

"I wonder what they want to do with them, honestly." Sasha said, reaching for her glass of iced tea lazily.

"Why do you exactly want them, anyway?" August echoed her question, idly scratching his beard, "For power? Money? Fame?"

The Baroness's laugh rang throughout the bar again, the sound even higher than the deep base thrumming from the speakers. "Oh, darling, I already have all of those!" She leaned on the desk and towards the duo, a dark glint passing her eyes, "I'm simply bored and this seems like the proper amount of fun I want to have!" Sir Hammerlock looked helpless as he sighed and ran a hand through his mighty mustache.

* * *

"Moxx, for god's sake, those are the Hammerlocks! They hunt bounties for fun." John nearly whined, "There has to be another way."

"I can't possibly let the chance of milking a couple of rich so-called-aristocrats fly from my hands, John." Moxxi said, throwing another look at the con going on before ducking behind the counter again. "I want to help, but I can't do that right now, unless you join us."

"We're in." The hard voice of Angel surprised the others, making it clear that her decision was final. John went to object, only to be stopped by his daughter, "No, dad. I know this is dangerous, but we need their help. Plus, we need money for supplies; we didn't bring much along with us and you know it." John heaved a huge sigh, rubbing his face with both hands.

"How long till we reach Moxx's bar?" he asked, finally giving up.

"Have no fear. We will deliver you to Gracious Mother in two hours." Ouranos said, already turning to march towards the bandit technical parked outside.

"That's right! Follow us!" Hermes added, already vibrating with joy.

* * *

"Great, I'll alert the team." Moxxi said with a pleased smile. Blowing a loving kiss to Ellie, she ended the call and appeared behind the counter. Sasha raised an eyebrow questioningly, which prompted Moxxi to join their line. "Change of plans, everyone. We actually have the siren and her father." August choked on his rakk ale, forcing Fiona to pat his back none too gently. "But we're not gonna hand them to these posh people, we'll be in a mutually beneficial relationship. Yes, Sasha, that's more important than the money, so close your mouth and sit down." She idly grabbed a couple of bottles and started making a mix for herself, this was gonna be a long night. "We're still getting their money, though, don't be afraid. We're just… making the deal take a little longer than expected."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Sasha asked, sounding flabbergasted.

Fiona suddenly slammed her hands onto the table, rising from her seat, "Going after people for fun?! That sounds just wrong, and I'm ex-Hyperion! I can't work with this!" She moved to leave only to be stopped by August, who caught onto her plan: "Lydia, please… We're talking about big money here, enough to live a good life away from the company wars." He batted his eyelashes at her and she honestly couldn't believe how she managed to fell for this idiot. She stifled a chuckle, schooling her features into a pained expression, "I…" she sighed. "I need time to think. Let's meet up for breakfast tomorrow and talk again, alright?"

Sir Hammerlock turned to look at his sister with a doubtful look, but the Baroness simply shrugged and got up, "I've missed two hours of my beauty sleep for this talk anyway! Breakfast sounds delightful, darling, make sure you find a place that's not as cheap as this one!"

And with a stack of money thrown onto the table, Aurelia and Alistair Hammerlock were gone.

August slowly sat back down, "What the actual fuck?"

* * *

Suffering for a total of eight hours for the day, Timothy and Rhys met up in the latter's apartment since Timothy was quite sure his was bugged in ways he couldn't possibly detect. Chewing on a slice of pizza, Rhys hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder how life's like on Pandora."

"My guess?" Timothy replied through a mouthful of pizza, "Like skag shit."

"Come on, bro. Vaughn's down there helping Hyperion build a proper city! There's still hope."

"My god, you're such a fanboy."

"My god, you're a dumbass."

Bickering like little kids was good for anxiety, Rhys thought as he finally finished his slice and opened up his right palm to give Vaughn the long-awaited ECHO call. Timothy graced him with a hopeful, albeit-wavering smile.

Vaughn picked up on the third ring, the screen opening a virtual door to the man's living room. The accountant gave Rhys a huge grin, "Hey bro! What's up? You usually call later than this hour." Time zones were a bitch when it came to how different the daily cycles were for Pandora, Elpis and Helios.

The cyborg gave his friend a nervous smile, running his hand through his hair, "I need your help, bro. This is some tricky business, so we might need some time to talk properly."

"Oooookay?"

"Let me introduce you to my friend Timothy first!" Rhys said, motioning for the other man to come closer.

"So this is the famous Vaughn, eh?"

"And you're the famous Timothy, huh?"

"The one and only. Honored to meet a badass accountant like you." Finger guns exchanged, mock-shots taken, and Timothy and Vaughn were already getting along just fine. Vaughn laid back on his couch, a curious look in his eyes now, "What did you need me for, bros?"

"A super-secret mission. We need you to be our eyes and ears on Pandora, bro." Rhys replied, jaw set tight despite his cheery tone. The accountant turned to glance at Timothy, "This is about your brother, isn't it?" Receiving an affirmative nod, Vaughn sighed and took off his glasses, idly cleaning the lenses with his t-shirt.

"This mission sounds super-dangerous, too, then." He put on his glasses once he was sure they were clean, "Rhys, we'll be risking too much; not just our jobs, our lives, too!"

"I know, but we can't let innocent people get hurt because of some asshole's personal gain!"

"That asshole you're talking about is our CEO, Rhys. And- and do you even hear yourself? You sound so… not-Hyperion!"

"That's what I've been saying." Timothy grinned at Vaughn, shaking his head in amusement. "Look, dude, it's fine if you don't want to be a part of this-"

"He wants so be a part of this, he's just playing hard to get!"

"I'm not! Okay maybe a little, but… this is really dangerous!"

"You'll just look for any sightings, news and gossip, bro! Just report back to us and we'll be good!"

"Are you even sure they're not listening to our calls already?"

"Bro. Come on now! You really think I wouldn't set up a secure connection for this?"

"Okay, alright, that makes sense. But-"

There was a knock on the door. Vaughn instinctively curled in on himself despite being on the other end and hissed, "Whoisthat?!"

"Why would they knock the door anyway, doorbells are there for a reason!" Timothy grumbled next to him as Rhys turned to scan the door and the person behind it with his ECHO eye.

"Well shit."

"Open the door, people! This is Commander Axton speaking on behalf of Hyperion Corporation, you've been caught committing treachery!"


End file.
